Robotically controlled surgical instruments are often used in minimally invasive medical procedures (as used herein, the terms “robot” or “robotically” and the like include teleoperation or telerobotic aspects). Such instruments typically include an end effector or tool such as forceps, a cutting tool, or a cauterizing tool mounted on a wrist mechanism at the distal end of an extension, sometimes referred to herein as the main tube of the instrument. During a medical procedure, the effector and the distal end of the main tube can be inserted directly or through a cannula into a small incision or a natural orifice of a patient to position the effector at a work site within the body of the patient. The wrist mechanism can then be used to position, orient, move, and operate the effector when performing the desired procedure at the work site. Tendons, e.g., cables or similar structures, extending through the main tube of the instrument can connect the wrist mechanism to a transmission or backend mechanism that may be motor driven in response to a doctor's instructions provided through a computer interface.
The instruments employed during medical procedures are generally complex mechanical devices having many separate components (e.g., cables and mechanical members). Accordingly, to reduce cost, it is desirable for the instruments to be reusable. However, reuse of a surgical instrument generally requires stringent cleaning and sterilization procedures that are made more difficult by the large number of small components and tight intervening spaces within such instruments. There exists a continued need for systems and methods that protect surgical instruments from exposure to fluids and debris during use, especially in more difficult to clean parts of the instrument. Systems and methods for improving the efficiency of cleaning procedures for minimally invasive surgical instruments and/or reducing the cost per use of such instruments are desired.